Crowds continue to gather at the Ghazipur vegetable market in New Delhi. (Express Photo: Praveen Khanna) Coronavirus India Live Updates: India on Saturday reported over 4,00,000 fresh Covid-19 cases for the first time as the tally crossed 19 million-mark, according to Union health ministry’s data. With 4,019, 93 fresh coronavirus cases, India”s Covid-19 tally has risen to 19,164,969. The country also recorded 3,523 deaths on Friday, including 870 in Maharashtra, 375 in Delhi, 332 in Uttar Pradesh, and 269 in Chhattisgarh.
Meanwhile, at least sixteen Covid-19 patients and two nurses were killed after fire broke out at the ICU of The Welfare Hospital in Bharuch district on Saturday. Locals broke the glass windows and rescued the other patients. Sources said there were around 27 patients in the ICU ward at the time of the fire. They were shifted to nearby private hospitals.
Chief minister Vijay Rupani appointed two senior bureaucrats — Additional Chief Secretary (labour and employment) Vipul Mittra and Commissioner (municipalities) Rajkumar Beniwal — to rush to Bharuch for an inquiry. Rupani said a judicial probe would also be initiated.
The United States has imposed restrictions on travel from India starting on May 4 because of the extraordinarily high Covid-19 caseloads and multiple variants circulating in the country, the White House said. “On the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Administration will restrict travel from India starting immediately,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday.
Meanwhile, in an exclusive chat with The Indian Express, Dr Anthony S Fauci, one of Covid’s most trusted global voices, said although no nation likes to lock itself down but an “immediate” shutdown for a “few weeks” could put an end to the cycle of transmission in India.
“Well, one of the things you really need to do that to the extent that you can — is shut down temporarily the country, I think is important. If we want to time out and go back to what I said. There is the immediate, the intermediate, and the long range. I think the most important thing in the immediate is to get oxygen, get supplies, get medication, get PPE, those kinds of things but also, one of the immediate things to do is to essentially call a shutdown of the country,” he added.
A Covid-19 patient waits outside LNJP Hospital in New Delhi on Friday. (Express Photo: Praveen Khanna)
Former Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Mohammad Shahabuddin passed away on Saturday. He was being treated at the DDU hospital in New Delhi after testing positive for Covid-19.
Sources told The Indian Express this morning that Shahabuddin was in a critical condition and doctors were planning to shift him to the LNJP hospital.
DG (Tihar) Sandeep Goel said Shahabuddin, serving a life sentence for murder in Tihar jail, had contracted the virus on April 20, after which he was admitted to DDU hospital. (Read Mahender Singh Manral's report)
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reaches Avantibai Hospital vaccination centre to take stock of the Phase 3 Covid-19 vaccination drive. “2,500 centres for 45+ have begun phase 3 vaccination today. We've also begun vaccinating people in the 18+ category in 7 districts where positivity rate and active cases are highest — Lucknow, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Gorahpur, Bareilly, Kanpur and Meerut. 85 separate centres for 18+ have been set up,” Adityanath added. (ANI)
15 oxygen concentrators from Thailand arrive in Delhi as assistance to India in the fight against Covid-19. (ANI)
The Congress on Saturday launched a “Hello Doctor” helpline for medical advisory purposes. Rahul Gandhi, while tweeting about this, asked doctors and mental health experts to enrol and help people get through these difficult times.
Two men arrested in Delhi for selling fake Remdesivir at Rs 35,000 per vial. 17 injections seized from their possession. (ANI)
Boeing on Friday announced a $10 million emergency assistance package to support India's Covid-19 response. The assistance from Boeing will be directed to organisations providing relief, including medical supplies and emergency health care for communities and families battling Covid-19, the company said in a statement.
"The Covid-19 pandemic has devastated communities across the globe and our hearts go out to our friends in India who are going through a very difficult time. Boeing is a global citizen, and in India we are directing our pandemic response to the communities most impacted by this recent surge of cases," said Dave Calhoun, president and CEO of Boeing. Boeing said it will partner with local and international relief organisations to deploy the $10 million to the areas of greatest need in consultation with medical, government and public health experts. (PTI)
Former Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Mohammad Shahabuddin, who is currently undergoing treatment at the DDU hospital after he tested positive for Covid-19 on April 20, is said to be critical and doctors are planning to shift him to the LNJP hospital, sources said.
Shahabuddin is in Tihar Jail and is serving a life sentence for murder. (Read Mahender Singh Manral's report)
Threatening a five-year jail term or hefty fine, the Australian government temporarily barred its citizens from entering the country if they happened to be in India within 14 days of their intended arrival.
The decision was announced after a meeting of the National Cabinet on Friday and will come into force from Monday.
The move aims at keeping the coronavirus spread in check in Australia as India is facing a surge in infections cases. (PTI)
Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar said priority will be given to people between 45 and 60 years of age coming in for their second dose. Vaccines will be given to people between 18 and 44 years of age only after they have registered and received a message. The centres will function as and when we receive vaccines. “Don't go to centres until and unless you receive a message,” she added. (ANI)
We had planned a big event for today but we received only 3 lakh doses. Out of that 20,000 have been given to Pune district. Today we don't have vaccines to inoculate people aged 45 yrs & above. Hence vaccination centres in Pune dist are closed for next 2 days: Maharashtra Deputy CM
India on Saturday reported over 400,000 fresh Covid-19 cases for the first time as the tally crossed 19 million-mark, according to Union health ministry’s data. With 4,019, 93 fresh coronavirus cases, India”s Covid-19 tally has risen to 19,164,969. The country also recorded 3,523 deaths on Friday, including 870 in Maharashtra, 375 in Delhi, 332 in Uttar Pradesh, and 269 in Chhattisgarh.
Streets remained deserted and shops remain closed in Thiruvananthapuram after the state government imposed restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19. Only essential services and emergency services permitted on Saturdays and Sundays. (ANI)
The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Friday said the Covid-19 inoculation drive for the 18-45 age group will not take off on May 1, until vaccine supply is established in the UT.
In a press conference late Thursday, Baseer Khan, adviser to J&K LG Manoj Sinha, said J&K had placed an order for 1.24 crore vaccines, among the highest in the country. “Our orders are higher than even Uttar Pradesh,” he said.
In a statement on Friday, the UT administration said: “Vaccination will not be walk-in but only through pre-registration of slots. No slots have been opened for booking a session. Please wait for the announcement of the vaccination start date for the 18-45 age group.” The date for the vaccinations for this group will be announced later, the UT administration said. (Read Naveed Iqbal's report)